LENTE urges voters to scrutinize surveys amid campaign period

The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) on Tuesday called on the public to carefully examine survey results that come out during the campaign period for the 2025 midterm elections.

LENTE executive director Atty. Ona Caritos emphasized that election surveys should be “as scientific as possible,” noting that some polls are being released in favor of certain candidates.

“Importante na alam ng ating mga kababayan na maraming magsusulputan na mga surveys sa mga susunod na araw, sa mga susunod na linggo. Kaya dapat kilatisin nating mabuti ano ba ‘yung mga survey firm na ‘yan na naglalabas ng resulta kasi puwedeng skewed to a certain candidate,” Caritos said in an Unang Balita interview.

(It’s important for people to know that there will be many surveys that will come out in the next few days and weeks. So we should carefully examine those survey firms that release the results because they can be skewed to a certain candidate.)

“So dapat ay tignan natin sino ang nagsu-survey at ano ang kanilang methodology sa pagko-conduct ng survey. So dapat as scientific as possible at tandaan natin na may requirements under our electoral laws para sa paglalabas ng survey results,” she added.

(We should also look at who is conducting the survey and what is their methodology in conducting the survey. So it should be as scientific as possible, and remember that there are requirements under our electoral laws for the release of such survey results.)

Republic Act No. 9006 or the Fair Election Act provides that during the election period, any person, natural as well as juridical, candidate or organization who publishes a survey must likewise publish the following information:

• the name of the person, candidate, party or organization who commissioned or paid for the survey;
• the name of the person, polling firm or survey organization who conducted the survey;
• the period during which the survey was conducted, the methodology used, including the number of individual respondents and the areas from which they were selected, and the specific questions asked;
• the margin of error of the survey;
• For each question for which the margin of error is greater than that reported under paragraph (d), the margin of error for that question; and
• a mailing address and telephone number, indicating it as an address or telephone number at which the sponsor can be contacted to obtain a written report regarding the survey

The law also states that surveys affecting national candidates shall not be published 15 days before an election, and surveys affecting local candidates shall not be published seven days before an election.

On Tuesday, the 90-day campaign period for the national candidates (senatorial candidates and party-list groups) began and will run until May 10.

Meanwhile, the 45-day campaign period for local candidates will be from March 28 to May 10.

Election Day is on Monday, May 12. —KG, GMA Integrated News

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